Inside, On, and Beyond the Body: Development and Organization of Three Spatial Representations in Children and Young Adults

Although there is a growing interest in how different types of space are represented, no study has yet systematically examined the development and organization of inner body, outer body (configurational and action-oriented), and navigational spatial representations within the same sample. The present study investigated age-related differences in these three domains and their organization by comparing school-aged children and young adults. In a cross-sectional study, 138 school-aged children (7–8 and 9–10 years) and 96 young adults (18–35 years) completed six tasks assessing interoceptive accuracy, configurational and action-oriented body representations, and landmark, route, and survey knowledge of a virtual environment. Mixed-design analyses revealed no age-related differences in interoceptive accuracy. In contrast, outer body representations showed distinct developmental trajectories: configurational representation reached adult-like levels by the age of 9–10 years, whereas action-oriented representation continued to mature beyond this age. Concerning navigational space development, landmark and route knowledge were comparable across age groups, while young adults outperformed both groups of children in survey knowledge. Exploratory factor analyses revealed age-related differences in the structural organization and coupling of inner body, outer body, and navigational representations. Overall, the findings highlight distinct developmental trajectories and age-related organization across body-related and navigational spatial representations.